Simon-t

We took a few ballroom lessons before our first Cunard Cruise and plucked up the courage to shuffle around on a basic waltz and quickstep! It was worth taking a few lessons and did give us the courgae to get on to the floor. The Cunard Cruises we have been on have all had excellent ballroom and latin lessons which will teach you a few steps and are fun to attend. Some of the very experienced dancers can be a bit intimidating to watch, but the Cunard ballrooms are excellent and it is well worth getting up and having a go. As exlondoner says, getting in the way seems to be the main thing to avoid, so just keep going in the direction everyone else is travelling!

The steps up to the ramparts are just one flight of stairs. Once you are on the walls it is reasonably flat to walk around . Nothing like Mont St Michel which is, as you say, a real slog to the top!

It depends on how much luggage you have. UK trains have luggage racks with a reasonable amount of space at the end of each carriage, as well as some overhead luggage space which will take carry on bags. You should usually be ok unless the train is very busy when you might end up with the luggage on your lap!

I would definitely recommend Concarneau from Lorient for the reasons sleepingcat sets our. Vannes is pleasant enough but not as quaint and pretty as Concarneau. St Malo old town is lovely to walk around. The walk around the Town Walls has some lovely views, and the old town itself is full of streets with lots of nice restaurants. Dinan is also pretty, but there is a bit less to do once you have wandered around the old town. It's not that far from St Malo, so depending on how much time you have, I would suggest trying to get to Dinan in the morning for a few hours, then the afternoon in St Malo.

Another vote for staying in Bruges from me. Brussels is pleasant enough around the Grand Place but it's not especially interesting. Bruges is much prettier, and a great compact centre making it a great day trip for a cruise. Around the canals Bruges is almost like a mini Amsterdam.

We did hike up and I would agree that it is hard work through uninspiring streets. It was worth it though, as the views are amazing, with the classic view over Florence and the Duomo. If you can be there for sunset it is particularly memorable.

Off topic - but this is a fantastic itinerary for a first Med Cruise. Dubrovnik and Kotor are two of our favourite ports.

This is good advice. Virtually everywhere in Western Europe will accept (and often prefer) payment by card, even for small amounts. When travelling we tend to take enough to cover cash tips for tour guides and a back up for a card not working, but nothing else.

National Express Coaches are fine and are much better value than the train. Leg room can be a bit tight if you are tall, but no more so than on train. UK trains are notoriously expensive, and can often be very crowded.

We're looking to book with GTI so this is really helpful thanks. Were there any additional entry fees payable for visits to sites such as the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Church of the Nativity, or are they included in the cost of the tour?

No, there are no roads to the top, just a footpath.

The climb up the hill is hard work, but you are rewarded with some fantastic views. My tip would be to go as early as possible before the sun gets too high. We found the climb, a wander around the old town, with lunch and a beer (or two…) was a great way to fill the day.

The classics are stops such as Geiranger, Olden, Flam, Skjolden. As others have said, some Norwegian cruises will have mainly coastal stops such as Bergen, Stavanger, or Tromso which are nice cities, but are not situated in classic fjords. If you want to see the classic fjord scenery, and enjoy the cruise along the fjord, you need be including some deep fjord stops to avoid disappointment. Geiranger is probably our favourite cruise port, and is an amazing cruise along the fjord to the port. As an aside, I would highly recommending looking at the Lofoten Islands which are included on some itineraries. Having done lots of Norwegian cruises in the past, we stopped at Lofoten for the first time last year and fell in love with the mountain scenery.

Assuming one of the Iceland stops is Reykjavik, there are lots of companies running versions of the classic Golden Circle tour running to Geysir, the geothermal areas, Thingvallir National Park and Gulfoss waterfalls. They tend to be quite long trips but the scenery is amazing and an excellent introduction to Iceland. Several Iceland Ports have similar trips. From Akureyri, trips to Lake Myvatn go through some incredible scenery. There are also whale watching tours from both Akureyri and Isafjordur where you have a good chance of seeing humpback whales and puffins if that is your thing. I have worked a lot in Liverpool and it is a great City to walk around. The Royal Albert Docks area has some nice bars and restaurants, plus everything from the Beatles Experience to a branch of the Tate Gallery. The two cathedrals are well worth a visit (and the views from the top of the tower of the Anglican Cathedral great if you have a head for heights).If you are in to The Beatles, a trip to the Cavern Club is worthwhile. All of that is easy to do on your own in a day. Alternatively a day trip to Snowdonia in North Wales is possible from Liverpool, which has some lovely mountain scenery as well as interesting places such as Caernarfon Castle, where you will hear Welsh being spoken as a first language (don't worry - everyone speaks fluent English as well!). Chester is also a nice day trip from Liverpool. Personally, though, if you have not been to Liverpool I would probably stay there on a first trip.

If you are looking at the Latin Quarter we have stayed at the Hotel Notre Dame Saint-Michel on a couple of occasions. Great location with decent size rooms (for Paris) with views of the Seine and Notre Dame Cathedral. Lovely independent hotel with great service.

Good decision! Paris is great but you simply will cannot begin to do it justice in a couple of hours. Honfleur is a lovely picturesque town and only a short transfer from Le Havre. Another option to consider is a trip to the cliffs at Etretat, a short drive up the coast from Le Havre and a beautiful spot to spend a few hours.

We always stay at the Trafalgar St James on Trafalgar Square. A very nice hotel and reasonable value for central London in a great location for most of the main sights, including the West End.

There were five ships in when we visited last month. The wait for the cable car back down the cliff was well over an hour (we walked back down which took about 20 minutes). Oia and Fira were both very crowded. Shoulder to shoulder and quite unpleasant at times. The island is beautiful, but I would try to visit when there are less cruise ships in if possible.

Kotor is a fantastic port. As others have said, the old town is easily walkable on your own. If you have time , the walk up the hillside behind the town to the old castle is rewarded with some amazing views back down the fjord. It is a pretty strenuous walk but well worth the effort.

At the risk of sounding cynical, it may well be that a tip is "expected" from American tourists but is not expected from us Brits!😀

This is really good advice. A surprising number of "fjord cruises" will only have one real fjord stops. The four that hallasm mentions are the classic fjords and are all amazing stops. For me, Geiranger is the classic fjord with some amazing scenery. Flåm itself is small, but is the starting point for the Flåm railway, which is a must do excursion (it leaves from within walking distance of the port). We also like Andalsnes which has some great scenery. I would also mention the Lofoten Islands. We have just done our fifth Norwegian cruise, but our first stop in Lofoten. Quite different to the fjords, but some stunning mountain scenery and pretty fishing villages. The midnight sun is quite an experience if you go above the arctic circle in summer. 24 hour daylight is surprisingly disorientating and I'm not sure how the locals cope for weeks on end! In terms of towns most Norwegian cruises seem to have one (or both) of Bergen or Stavanger, both of which are quite interesting. If you are going further north, Trondheim and Tromso are also really nice ports.

This is definitely true. The pandemic has led pretty much everywhere accepting (and preferring) contactless card payment even for the smallest transactions. I genuinely cannot remember the last time I used cash in the UK.

Definitely. Im pretty sure my GP would be perfectly happy to do that, even if it just referenced the exemption certificate. I would have thought a private GP would do the same, although there would be a fee of course!

Following on from my last post, found this explanation on the Royal Caribbean website which is the clearest explanation I have seen. This applies to sailings from Europe. My next cruise is at the end of September so who knows what the rules will be then! To be considered up to date by all European countries we sail to, your vaccination must meet both of the following requirements: You received your final dose in your original two-dose vaccine series (or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson) no more than 9 months (270 days) ago, or a booster dose. Guests that have received a booster dose will qualify regardless of the amount of time that has passed since receiving their booster.

Yes, as others have said, the rules seem to be that you either have to have had your second primary vaccine within 270 days or you have had your booster at any time. So if your party members have all had a booster they should be fine.